Stranger Things Have Happened

Stranger Things Have Happened

"Stupid Lily Evans," sixteen-year-old James Potter grumbled to his best friend, Sirius Black. The two friends were trudging back to Gryffindor Tower from Professor McGonagall's office.

"Yeah," muttered Sirius, "she had to go and tattle..."

"Ten points from Gryffindor," groaned James.

"And I thought her hair looked nice. It matched her eyes, anyway." Sirius's lips began to twitch.

"Oh, my, yes. Green is a lovely colour for Miss Evans!" James grinned at Sirius. The two boys instantly began to laugh at their latest prank. Lily Evans was a usual target for the Marauders' pranks, mainly because she was so stiff about breaking rules.

"Actually, ten points isn't really that bad," Sirius reasoned after he had got his breath back. James considered this and agreed.

"You're right, yet again, Padfoot. We didn't even get a detention! So, therefore," James assumed the serious manner that their friend, Remus Lupin, always had when explaining things, "the conclusion that can be drawn is that, even though ten points have been deducted from Gryffindor House, the way Lily squealed when she realized her hair was green had definitely made it worth while. Acute Fungus." They had reached the portrait of the Fat Lady, which swung open after James said the password.

Sirius chuckled in agreement, "Quite so!" The other Marauders, Remus and Peter Pettigrew, greeted them as they entered.

"What's the verdict?" Remus asked immediately.

"Ten points, no detention," James answered in the usual way. Remus's eyebrows shot up.

"Well, seems as if McGonagall went easy on you two!" Remus was the more quite, studious, and rule abiding, of the Marauders. Sirius even teased Remus that he was the gentlest werewolf he'd ever met. For Remus was, in fact, a werewolf, and James, Sirius, Peter, and the teachers were the only people in Hogwarts who knew about his lycanthrope. He was worried when he first came to Hogwarts that he would have trouble making friends, but he needn't ever worry. He had three great friends who, instead of shunning him when they found out that he was a werewolf, tried to help him by becoming Anamagi in their fifth year. They each had a specific animal that they transformed into, with nicknames to go along with them. James transformed into a stag and was called Prongs; Sirius, or Padfoot, was a large dog; and Peter was a rat called Wormtail. Remus acquired the nickname "Moony" for obvious reasons.

James grinned at Remus, "She was probably hoping we'd give her a new hairdo like Lily's!" The four friends burst out in gales of laughter, each one sounding different. James usually shook and wheezed while tears streamed down his face. Sirius had an extremely boisterous guffaw that bounced off of the common room walls. Remus chuckled softly when amused and Peter usually giggled nervously. So, as each boy laughed his own, unique laugh, they naturally attracted attention.

"What's going on here?" demanded a stern, feminine voice. All four Marauders looked up. Lily Evans was standing imperiously over them with her hand firmly planted on her hips. Her bright green eyes flashed dangerously, and the long, fiery-red hair that framed her exquisite face made her anger seem more livid.

James finally recovered from his laughing fit and stood up. He gave Lily what he thought was a winning smile and said, "Good evening, Miss Evans, and, might I say, your hair is looking quite lovely!" He waggled his eyebrows at her, while Sirius and Remus gave each other knowing glances. Lily's face turned bright red and she narrowed her eyes at James.

"Don't 'Good evening Miss Evans' me! I hope you're sorry for being so mean to me! You and that...that..." she searched her brain for the word that would properly describe how vile she thought Sirius was, "that...thing you hang out with all the time!" James swallowed a chuckle and put on an angelic face.

"Don't worry, Tiger-Lily, Professor McGonagall made sure that Sirius and I knew how bad we are. And I can tell you," he stepped closer to her and said in a low, rugged voice, "I. Am. Bad." He followed this statement with a manly purr. She instantly stepped back, clearly infuriated.

"I hate you, James Potter! Don't you dare come near me or call me 'Tiger-Lily' again!" James was surprised to see that Lily was crying.

Whoops, he thought to himself, guess I went a bit too far.

"Lily, I'm sorry..." he did look genuinely apologetic, but Lily wouldn't hear it.

"No you're not!" she yelled, "You're never sorry James Harold Potter!" James flinched at the sound of his middle name; he hated the name Harold.

"Lily, I..." he started, but she just let out a loud sob rushed up to the sixth-year girls' dormitory.

Why was I trying to apologize? James thought quickly, it's not like I like her, or anything...

* * *

"That stupid, ugly, untidy, black-haired, four-eyed, skinny little git!" Lily seethed with anger as she pummeled her pillow, "Why does he always pick on me? I never bother him and his stupid friends. All of his friends are stupid! Well, except for Remus, he's nice." She sniffed and brushed away her angry tears.

"I don't even know why everybody likes that stupid James Potter," she continued ranting, "so what if he's smart and talented and cute..." She stopped abruptly. Did she just say cute? Lily leaned back and groaned , "I think I have a crush on James Potter."

* * *

"Nice going, Prongs! You've found yet another, and might I say, more effective way of infuriating Lily Evans!" Sirius clapped James on the back while shaking his hand. James pulled away.

"Didn't you see what happened, Padfoot?" James glared at his friend through his round spectacles.

Sirius sighed, "Yes, Prongs, I saw. Lily turned a brilliant color..."

"I made her cry!" James snapped, "I never wanted to make her cry. I just...I don't know...I just don't know." Sirius studied his friend; James was acting very oddly.

"If I didn't know better," Remus began in his quiet manner, "I'd think old Prongs here has a soft spot for Lily Evans." James's head snapped up.

"What are you on about, Moony?" Sirius asked disbelievingly, "James, and Lily?"

"Stranger things have happened," Remus pointed out.

"Like Sirius?" Peter said innocently. Sirius turned an annoyed face on Peter.

"I'd keep my mouth shut if I were you, Wormtail. Don't forget, my animal could eat your animal in one BITE!" Sirius let out a very dog-like growl. Peter shivered.

"Will you two shut up?" James snarled. Sirius glared irritably at James.

"Hey, Prongs, is it that time of the month already?"

"No, but it's probably Moony's," James spat coldly. Sirius was outraged.

"How could you say that about our friend, James?"

"Actually," Remus broke in looking serious, "He's right. The full moon is next week." There was silence and then James stood up.

"I'm going to bed," he muttered. Peter was flabbergasted.

"But...but James! We haven't had dinner yet!" he informed his annoyed friend. James ignored him.

"Don't worry about him, Wormtail," Sirius said, loud enough for James to hear, "let the great prat starve if he wants to!" James grit his teeth but didn't turn or say anything. He let himself into the sixth year boy's dormitory and slammed the door. Peter shivered again.

"Padfoot, don't be angry with him," Remus said in a pleading voice. Sirius rounded on Remus.

"And why shouldn't I be, Moony? After what he said about you?" He said all this in a very harsh whisper.

Remus looked at him very seriously, "You said it to him, first, Padfoot." Sirius narrowed his eyes at Remus.

In a very soft tone he said, "Anyone could have heard him. Good God, Moony! Somebody could have found out!" Remus smiled weakly.

"I doubt they would have guessed, Padfoot. I mean, not many men have periods..."

"Moony!"

"...in which they are werewolves," Remus grinned. Sirius quickly searched the common room for eavesdroppers. Remus laughed.

"Calm down, Padfoot! Everyone else is at dinner. The only people here who heard me are you and Peter."

"And me." Remus, Sirius, and Peter spun around and saw Lily standing at the foot of the girls' staircase looking shocked.

"Remus, you're a...a werewolf?" she asked shakily. Remus turned a sickly shade of green and sank into a chair, covering his face with his hands. Peter went over to him and patted his back comfortingly. Sirius stalked over to Lily and grabbed her roughly by the shoulders. Lily gasped.

"You will say this to no one, do you understand?" he said in a dangerous whisper. Lily nodded her head vigorously.

"Yes, of course, Sirius. I won't say a word," she breathed. He let go of her with a shake and strode over to Remus, who chanced a look at Lily. She gave him a terrified glance and turned to go back up to her dormitory.

"Wait." The four of them turned to see James coming swiftly down the boys' staircase. "Lily, don't go, just hear me out," James pleaded with her. Lily felt her heart flutter, and hated herself for it.

"Fine, you have one minute. Talk," she ordered sharply. James instantly began to feel nervous.

"Well, okay. Only one minute, huh? So," he started off roughly, "First off, don't be afraid of Remus. He's one of the nicest blokes I know, so please don't judge him for something he can't help." James stopped for a breath. Lily felt her heart begin to melt. She glanced over at Remus and saw him blush while muttering that he wasn't that nice.

"And secondly," James started again. Lily turned back just in time to see him grow a bit pink and take her hands in his. Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something, but James cut her off. "Please, let me finish. Ok, I just want to let you know how sorry I am about everything that I've ever done to you. The green hair, the rude quill, the ever-sticking gum..."

"James..." Lily began quietly.

"...the hot pepper imps in your pudding..."

"James..." Lily started to giggle as he rambled on about all the pranks he was sorry for, which there were many.

"...when I made your Transfiguration homework run away..."

"JAMES!" Lily shouted to make him be quiet; it worked.

"Yes?" James said in a small, hopeful voice. She squeezed his hands and smiled.

"I forgive you," she said softly, "for everything." James's eyes nearly popped out of their sockets.

"E-everything?" he stuttered, utterly surprised.

"Yes, everything," Lily laughed.

"Even the..."

"EVERYTHING!"

"Great," he said, very much relieved, "so..."

"Yeah..." They both looked hung back a bit, feeling awkward.

"I should probably go to bed," James mumbled, "We've got a match against Slytherin tomorrow." He began to turn to go, but he felt something pulling him back. Lily had grabbed the front of his robes and yanked him towards her. She then proceeded to push her lips against his in order to give him a very awkward, very welcome kiss. He faintly heard the sniggers coming from the other Marauders, but he didn't care. He tried to bring her closer, but she pulled away looking a bit flustered.

"Goodnight," she whispered breathlessly and walked very quickly up to her dormitory. James was left staring dazedly after her. He finally came back to reality when Sirius thumped him on the back while laughing.

"Woohoo! Way to go, Prongs!" he cheered, "Nice way to charm the lady. Now, tell me, was it the stuttering or the babbling that won her heart?" James grinned.

"Probably both!" he laughed.

"I told you that you had a soft spot for Lily Evans," Remus said gloatingly while giving James a smug look.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, shut up, Moony," James said, blushing. He glanced over at Peter and saw that he was scowling. James frowned.

"What's the matter, Wormtail?" James looked concernedly at Peter, who pouted at him.

"You're abandoning the Marauders," Peter answered in an unusually cold voice. James, Remus, and Sirius stared, shocked, at Peter.

"What're you bloody on about, Wormtail?" Sirius exploded.

"Yes, Peter, do tell us why you think that James is abandoning us," Remus said quietly, his eyebrows furrowed. Peter colored a bit, but didn't lose his strangely defiant expression.

"Peter," James began seriously, "I would never abandon the Marauders. Never. You fellows are my best friends, after all!"

"And Lily...?" Peter said in a sulky tone. James turned an interesting shade of magenta.

"Lily is..." he tried to explain to Peter was Lily was to him. He'd always had a crush on her, but just never wanted to admit it. He smiled and said, "Lily can be one of us!" He beamed at everyone else. Sirius grinned.

"Yeah, Prongs! That's a corking idea!" he exclaimed. Remus smiled.

"The first lady Marauder, by Jove!" he said with a relish.

"And the only," Peter muttered. Sirius faked an angry attitude.

"Speak for yourself, Wormtail! Just because you can't get a girl to look at you..." he grinned, unable to continue the serious act.

"Well," Remus started in a professional manner, "if Lily is going to be a Marauder, she's going to need a nickname." James grinned with a playful glint in his eyes.

"We can call her 'Tiger-Lily'," he said mischievously.